Tab-attaching device for laces



A. E. ANDERSON.

TAB ATTACHING DEVICE FOR LACES. APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1918. RENEWED AUG.'25,1919.

1 ,399,915, Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

PATN'E' OFFICE.

ARTHUR E. ANDERSON, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

TAB-ATTACHING DEVICE non Laces.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

Application filed May 29, 1918, Serial No. 237,224. Renewed August 25, 1919. Serial No. 319,647.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR E. ANDER- soN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Tab-Attaching Device for Laces; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the.

same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has reference more particularly to a device for attaching metal end tabs on shoe laces and the like and is designed so that it may be combined with a folding button hook having hinged plates, by merely forming the plates to serve such purpose and without additional or extra parts.

Shoe laces, and also laces for other purposes, which are adapted to be inserted through eyelets are usually provided with a short metal tab which'is folded around each end of the lace to prevent untwisting or fraying out of the ends of the lace and enable the lace to be easily inserted through the eyelet. These metal tabs usually consist of a short piece of thin metal 'which is wrapped around the end of the lace so as to tightly compress and securely engage same and usually has a roughened inner surface made by punching or otherwise to grip the inclosed portion of the lace and prevent the tab from being readily withdrawn therefrom. It frequently happens, however, that the tab comes off and renders the inserti'on of the end of the lace through the eyelet very difficult, and it is desirable to provide the lace with another tab. Such tabs are readily obtainable and at the pres. -ent time shoe repair shops use a machine for replacing the tab on the laces, but it is often times undesirable orinconvenient to take the lace to the repair shop to have the tab replaced. I

It is an object, therefore, of my invention to provide a simple inexpensive device for attaching tabs to shoe laces and the like.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a tab attaching device for shoe laces and the like, which may be combinedwith a folding button hook so as to utilize hinged parts thereof to form a clamp for attaching the tab to the lace by merely changing the.

form of the folding button hook parts, and without the necessity of adding other attachments thereto.

Another object of my invention is to provide a folding device which may consist of parts of a folding button hook, having opposite grooves and a perforation for the shoe lace whereby the lace may be held in the groove and a metal clip folded therearound by pressing the folding parts of the device. together.

Another object of my invention is to provide a folding device, which may consist of parts of a folding button hook, having opposite grooves which may be pressed together to clamp a tab around a shoe lace.

My invention also has other important objects which will appear from the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which I have illustrated and described my invention in a preferred form.

On the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of a folding button hook with my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a side View of the device in the folded condition. I

Fig. 3 is an edge view of the device as shown in Fig. 1, having a shoe lace and tab in position thereon I preparatory to the clamping of the tab on the lace.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 4;4: of Fig. 3'.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the tab after the first clamping operation.

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 4, showing the clamping inembers pressed together and the tab clampedon the lace in the finished condition.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing a modified form of my device.

As shown on the drawings: The numerals 1 and 2 indicate a pair of elongated plates which are hinged together. at 10 along their longitudinal edges so as to fold one above the other, and 3 is a button hook which is pivoted at 4 to the narrowed end of one of the plates so as to fold, as shown in Fig. 2, to a position intermediate of the plates 1 and 2 somewhat in the man= her of an ordinary pocket knife so as to provide 'a fiat compact structure wherein the plates 1 and 2 serve as a cover or guard for the hook in the folded condition, and which i serve as ahandle for the button hook when it is opened out. At the end to which the button ho k 3 i attached, the p te 1 has strip 5 folded thereover to confine the attached end of the hook therebetween; and the pin 4 is secured in the said strip and plate so as to retain said parts in this assembled relation and permit the folding of the hook to and from the position between the plates 1 and 2. j

The other plate 2 has a perforation 6, which folds directly over the rivet or pin 4 to afford a socket for the projecting end thereof, and there is a flange 7 at the edge of the plate 2, which, when the plates are folded together, extends between the plates 1 and 2 and engages a notch 18 at the butt end of the hook to hold the hook open and prevent accidental closing of same. In the folded position the said flange 7 engages the base of the hook at the opposite side and prevents opening the hook when the plates '1 and 2 are folded together.

For the purpose of applying a tab to a shoe lace each of the plates 1 and 2 is formed with a corresponding inwardly facing groove 8 and 9, respectively, adjacent and parallel with the hinge 10, which, when the plates 1 and 2 are folded together. provide a substantially cylindrical socket of suitable dimensions to firmly shape and compress a tab 12 around the lace, and the plate 1 has a perforation 11 at the inner end of the groove 8, through which the end of the lace is passed to facilitate holding it in the groove while the tab is being applied thereto. This perforation 11 ispreferably made the size of the eyelet in which the lace is to be used and serves as a age for testing the finished tab to determine whether it has been compressed and shaped suitably to be passed through the eyelet in which the lace is to be used.

The tab which is used for this purpose is such as is commonly used and consists of a short piece of thin metal indicated at 12, which is first bent somewhat as shown in Fig. 4 and laid in the groove of the plate 1. The lace 13, is then placed in the tab as shown in Fig. 4, with the end thereof inserted through the perforation 11 of the plate 1, and the'plate 2 is then folded over against the plate 1 so that the groove 9 thereof engages the edge of the tab 12, and presses same downwardly tight against the lace, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 4.

To assure sufficient engagement to firmly clamp the tab around the lace and to prevent the lace from spreading outwardly through the gap between the plates 1 and 2, the outer side of the groove 9, is formed with a lip 14, which extends downwardly along the outer side of the groove 8.

After the one edge of the tab has been pressed downwardly, as above indicated, the

lace and tab thereon are rolled inthe groove 8, to bring the other edge of the tab upwardly somewhat, as shown in Fig. 5, so as to be engaged by the groove 9, and the plate 2 is pressed down again and folds this edge of the tab down firmly so as to overlap the other edge of the tab, as shown in Fig. 6. The tab may then be further tightened and compressed around the lace by successively rolling the lace and tab in the groove 8, and clamping the grooved portion 9, of the plate 2, down thereagainst, until the tab is satisfactorily attached, and it may at times be insertedv through the opening 11, to determine if it has been reduced to a suitable size to pass through the eyelet in which the lace is to be used.

After the tab has been properly attached to the lace, the projecting end of the lace 13, is out off and the tab and lace are then ready for use. b In the structure shown in Fig. 7, the outer edge of each of the grooves 8 and 9, is formed with a rib or lip 15, which serves the same purpose as the larger rib or lip 14, of Fig. 4, and these lips are brought close together, as shown, when the plates 1 and 2 are pressed together, so as to prevent spreading of the lace and tab outwardly, between the plates.

I have shown my invention in connection with a folding button hook, as it provides a convenient combination, and enables the tab attaching device to be furnished in connection with a kindred article of common use by merely shaping the parts thereof to serve as a suitable clamp and without additional parts, and therefore with very little additional expense. The tab attaching device, however, may be constructed separ ately, or various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of my invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of hinged plates having matching grooves in the inner faces thereof adapted to compress and form a tab around a lace, one of said plates being provided with a perforation at the end of the groove thereof, adapted to receive the lace therethrough for holding same in the groove.

2. In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of hinged members, each having a matching groove adjacent the hinge for forming and'compressing a tab around a lace, one of said hinged members having a lace holding opening at the end of the groove thereof, and a lip at the side of the other of the grooves adapted to close the space between the members at the outer side of the groove.

3. In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of elongated plates hinged together along their longitudinal edges and adapted to be manually gripped to press the plates together, each of said plates being provided with a matching groove in the inner face thereof adjacent the hinge for compressing and forming a tab around a lace in the groove, a perforation in one of the plates at the end of the groove adapted to receive the lace therethrough for holding same in the groove, and a lip along the outer edge of one of the grooves for closing the gap between the plates at the outer side of the groove.

4. A lace tab attaching device comprising a pair of hingedly connected members having matching grooves therein of different widths, and an opening in one of said members associated with the groove therein for receiving a lace therethrough whereby the lace is held in position in said grooves.

5. A lace tab attaching device embracing a pair of hinged members, one of said members having a groove and an opening therein, the other member having a groove therein of a diameter less than the diameter of the groove in said first mentioned member, and a lip at the side of the narrowest groove adapted to close the space between the members at the outer side of the grooves when the device is closed.

6. A lace tab attaching device comprising a pair of connected plates, one of said plates 7. A tab attaching device for laces, said 7 device comprising a pair of grooved connected members, a rib on one of said members adjacent one edge of the groove therein and projecting beyond the surface of said member and beyond the level of the other edge of said groove, said rib being located to cooperate with the other member adjacent the edge of the groove therein when the device is closed for clamping a tab around a lace disposed in said grooves.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of hinged plates, a tool pivoted to one of said plates, and a flange on the other of said plates, said tool having a notch on the pivoted end thereof in a position to be engaged by said flange when the plates are folded toward one another.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscriblng witnesses.

ARTHUR E. ANDERSON.

vWitnesses FRANK A. BREMER, Jr., FRED E. PAESLER. 

